The deeper sections of the academy's bloodline chamber had been built beneath older sections of the underground vault, where the stone corridors narrowed and the containment formations became denser around every relic. Crimson lamps set into the walls provided most of the light, but several artifacts added their own colors to the chamber through leaking frost, lightning, black flame, gold radiance, or moving shadows. The air carried the mixed smell of scorched metal, old blood, damp stone, and the sharp mineral odor released by suppression arrays operating at full output. Noctis continued walking at a measured pace through the chamber while Valdred followed several steps behind him, watching every relic Noctis approached with growing concern.
Noctis had already collected the frost relic that had drawn his attention earlier, and the item now rested in his dimensional storage with the other treasures selected for his people. He had not chosen randomly. Each bloodline relic carried a different authority, and the fallen angels needed more than the abilities inherited through his blood. They needed individual paths that could support their preferred weapons, combat positions, and future development without making every member of the group fight the same way.
A pendant suspended inside a series of rotating black-metal rings drew his attention as they entered the next chamber. Its center held a narrow shard of dark red crystal, and black fire moved across its surface without producing smoke or ordinary heat. The fire did not spread through the air around it. Instead, it ate away at the light from the crimson lamps nearest to the containment rings, leaving those sections of the corridor dimmer than the rest of the vault.
Valdred noticed where Noctis had stopped and moved beside him, keeping his hands away from the outer containment seal. "That pendant is the Pendant of Vaelzoryth," he said. "It carries the Voidflame Monarch Bloodline. The bloodline combines abyssal fire with spatial distortion, so the flames damage the body and interfere with movement, barriers, and regeneration at the same time."
Noctis studied the black fire moving along the cracks in the pendant. "Who tried to use it?"
"Several elders, a demon general, and one academy instructor who thought the seal was exaggerating the danger," Valdred replied. "The instructor survived, but he could no longer stabilize his own demonic aura afterward. The black flame kept reopening the damage in his energy channels."
The relic suited a combatant who could maintain distance while controlling space around an enemy formation. Noctis thought of Sophia's bow and the way she preferred to remain outside the first line while creating pressure from elevated positions. Voidflame could give her arrows a second effect after impact, allowing each wound to continue spreading through armor seams and weakened barriers rather than ending with the initial strike.
He stepped through the outer ring of the containment formation and raised his hand toward the pendant. Black fire extended from the relic before his fingers reached it, but it did not burn through his skin. The flames moved across his palm and wrist, then folded inward as his blood authority pressed against the relic's corruption. The containment rings shook once, several formation lines brightened, and the pendant settled above his hand with the black fire contained around its surface.
Valdred stared at the relic, then at Noctis's hand. "You did not force the bloodline down."
"No," Noctis said while opening a narrow blood-red portal beside him. "It stopped trying to resist."
The Pendant of Vaelzoryth disappeared into the portal, and the black fire vanished with it. Valdred watched the portal close, then rubbed his forehead before turning his attention toward the next corridor. He did not tell Noctis to stop this time. The earlier relics had already shown him that warnings did not change the outcome once Noctis had decided an item was useful.
The next artifact floated above a circular platform covered in silver scripture. It resembled a fractured halo made of blackened metal, with several thin pieces of silver still attached along its outer curve. White-gold radiance leaked from the fractures while black vapor moved through it in slow strands, and the two energies remained separate rather than mixing into a single color. The suppression formation around the halo had been reinforced by additional chains connected to the ceiling and floor.
"That one is not a normal demonic bloodline," Valdred said before Noctis asked. "It is the Pendant of Nyxareth. Eclipse Seraph Bloodline. It carries fallen holy authority, abyssal synchronization, and eclipse power."
Noctis looked at the fractured halo without approaching immediately. "It was taken from a fallen angel?"
"From something that had once been one," Valdred replied. "The academy records say the original bearer had survived a holy rebellion and later accepted abyssal power. The bloodline did not reject either side. It integrated both. Every known attempt to synchronize with it afterward failed because the users could not maintain the balance between their holy and abyssal channels."
Nocthyrael came to mind at once. Her blood had already accepted vampiric authority, holy affinity, abyssal integration, and the blood memories she carried from him. The relic would not make her into something different. It would strengthen a structure that was already forming within her.
Noctis crossed the silver scripture circle and reached toward the halo. White-gold radiance pushed against his arm first, followed by cold black vapor that tried to wrap around his wrist. The pressure increased through the surrounding containment chains, and several links scraped against the stone floor as the formation tightened. Noctis held the relic in place with blood authority until the holy and abyssal currents stopped pulling in opposite directions, then closed his fingers around the center of the halo.
The fractured pendant settled against his palm. Its silver fragments no longer shook, and the black vapor remained close to the damaged edges rather than spreading through the room. Valdred looked from the halo to Noctis with an expression that had moved past surprise and into irritation at the situation itself.
"You have compatibility with relics that should reject each other," he said.
Noctis placed the Pendant of Nyxareth into his dimensional storage. "I am not taking them for myself."
"That does not make the pattern less strange."
"It makes it more useful."
The following corridor opened into a larger chamber where the ceiling had been raised to accommodate a relic suspended inside a rotating storm formation. Cyan lightning traveled between metal wing-shaped braces surrounding a crystal core, and compressed wind moved through the room hard enough to lift loose dust from the floor and pull at the edges of Valdred's coat. The containment seals had been built into the walls as well as the floor, and each one carried a separate lightning channel that redirected stray current into the stone.
Noctis stopped beneath the storm core. "Zephryxiel?"
Valdred gave him a look. "You are starting to remember the naming patterns."
"The wing braces made it obvious."
"The Pendant of Zephryxiel carries the Tempest Devourer Bloodline," Valdred said. "Storm authority, lightning, aerial movement, and atmospheric pressure. It can support flight, but its stronger function is changing the battlefield around the wielder. Wind pressure can slow formations, lightning can interrupt casting, and the bloodline itself increases control while airborne."
Noctis watched lightning move from the core to the inner surface of the metal braces. Elena's spear work could benefit from aerial mobility, but the relic also suited a member who focused on controlling open ground before a formation reached the fallen angels. The team had enough people capable of direct killing. They needed members who could break enemy movement, disrupt defensive ranks, and keep targets from escaping a prepared zone.
He entered the storm formation. The first current struck his shoulder and spread through the black fabric of his coat, but it did not throw him back. The second current moved across his hand when he reached for the crystal, and the wind inside the chamber changed direction as the relic tried to pull him upward. Noctis closed his fingers around the core. The lightning continued moving over his arm for several seconds, then shortened into thin lines that wrapped around the pendant instead of the room.
Valdred stepped closer after the wind dropped. "That one normally tears the user apart before the bloodline can establish control."
Noctis stored the Pendant of Zephryxiel. "Then it will not be worn by someone who cannot establish control."
The next relic waited beyond a narrow passage where blood-colored mist had collected along the floor. The containment platform was shaped like a shallow basin, and a red gemstone rested at its center. It did not look like a pendant at first because the chain had been pulled beneath the mist and wrapped around the base of the platform. The gem pulsed at regular intervals, and each pulse caused small movements in the blood mist around it.
Valdred stopped before Noctis reached the platform. "That one has caused more deaths than most cursed weapons in this chamber."
Noctis looked down at the gem. "Azaeryth."
Valdred nodded. "Scarlet Tyrant Bloodline. Blood domination, rapid regeneration, blood weapon manifestation, predatory instinct, and physical recovery that does not depend on ordinary healing. The bloodline is stronger than the primitive blood demon lines found in older ruins. Its structure is more complete, and it was built for continuous combat rather than survival through hunger alone."
The distinction held Noctis's attention. The blood demons had been described in old records as original evolutionary ancestors to vampires, ancient predators who had developed blood authority before the later vampire bloodlines divided and refined themselves. The Crimson Abyss Core carried one of those old lines. It represented an origin point, not a completed path. Scarlet Tyrant Bloodline carried the same broad foundation but showed what centuries of bloodline development had produced afterward: greater regeneration, deliberate weapon creation, and blood domination that could extend beyond feeding.
Noctis stepped into the blood mist and reached toward the gemstone. The pressure from the relic met his hand with force enough to move the mist outward from the platform. Crimson light traveled from the gem across his fingers, but the bloodline did not try to enter him. It tested his blood authority, paused, and then settled as his palm closed around the pendant.
The chamber's blood mist sank back toward the floor. The pendant continued pulsing, but the rhythm no longer disturbed the containment basin. Valdred watched in silence while Noctis examined the relic, likely considering which fallen angel would benefit most from direct blood control and regeneration.
"Claire might want that one," Valdred said after a moment.
Noctis looked toward him. "You know her?"
"I know she has been competing with Nocthyrael since the day she entered the faction," Valdred replied. "A relic that strengthens blood weapons and regeneration would appeal to her."
Noctis placed the Pendant of Azaeryth into storage. "She will choose when the time comes."
Further inside the chamber, the floor changed from polished stone to reinforced black slabs marked with deep, wide cracks. An obsidian pendant floated above a platform surrounded by thick iron pillars that extended into the floor and ceiling. Giant runes moved across the surface of the relic in slow lines, and the stone beneath Noctis's boots vibrated each time the pendant released a pulse of physical pressure.
"Morvathul," Noctis said.
"Titan Tyrant Bloodline," Valdred answered. "It provides body reinforcement, seismic force, giantification, and increased physical density. The previous bearers could damage fortress walls without weapons, but they lost speed each time they relied on the giantification function for too long."
Noctis looked at the reinforced pillars around the platform. "It needs someone who can keep moving under the added weight."
"Exactly."
The relic suited a frontline fighter who could hold a corridor, protect weaker members, and force an enemy formation to respond to a single body rather than the entire group. Victor's tower shield came to mind, as did his habit of anchoring himself where other people needed cover. Noctis entered the circle of pillars and reached for the pendant.
The platform shook when his fingers touched it. Pressure moved down through his arm and into the floor, opening several existing cracks wider before the containment runes redirected the force into the iron pillars. Noctis did not move back. He held the pendant until the giant runes stopped moving across its surface, then lifted it from the platform and stored it.
Valdred looked at the damaged floor after the relic disappeared. "You are going to leave me with the repair bill."
"You have academy workers."
"They will ask what happened."
"Tell them the containment formation failed."
Valdred looked at him for several seconds. "You are very comfortable asking me to lie."
"I am asking you to avoid a longer conversation."
The next relic had been placed inside a circular black-gold frame that rotated above a shallow pool of still water. A crystal hung at the frame's center, and gold radiance moved through one side of the crystal while black abyssal energy traveled through the other. The two currents met along a narrow line inside the center without spreading into one another. Noctis stopped near the pool and watched the balanced flow continue.
"Khaelyrion," Valdred said quietly. "Celestial Abyss Bloodline. Holy and abyssal synchronization, energy inversion, and resistance to conflicts between opposing authorities."
"That would make it useful for any fallen angel," Noctis said.
"It would make it dangerous for almost anyone else. The bloodline does not forgive imbalance. It either stabilizes both sides or tears the bearer apart."
The relic suited Nocthyrael most directly, but Noctis already held the Pendant of Nyxareth for her. Khaelyrion could instead support another fallen angel who needed to work alongside holy authority without losing access to abyssal techniques. The bloodline could also help someone who received an artifact with a difficult elemental or sanctity component later.
Noctis reached through the rotating frame. Gold light wrapped around his hand from one side while black energy pressed against his wrist from the other, and the pool beneath the relic rippled despite the absence of wind. He held both currents in place with his own blood authority. After several seconds, the black-gold crystal stopped rotating and lowered into his hand.
Valdred looked at the water settling below them. "I should have refused to bring you into this chamber."
"You said that earlier."
"I mean it more now."
Noctis stored the relic and continued down the next corridor, where the chamber opened into a wide vaulted room filled with additional pedestals. He did not need to inspect every artifact with the same amount of time. Some relics showed their functions immediately through their containment effects, and Valdred provided the names and known records as Noctis moved between them.
The Ring of Thalmyr rested inside a sphere of dimmed light that absorbed the crimson lamp glow around it. Valdred explained that it carried Moonshade authority, allowing stealth, light absorption, shadow movement, and concealment that could support Rengar as easily as a fallen angel. The Ring of Eryndor carried blood command authority and a dense red aura that remained close to the metal rather than spreading outward, making it useful for controlling blood constructs, issuing authority through blood links, and strengthening a combat leader's control over a group.
The Ring of Vhal'zar floated within a column of compressed dark water that never spilled from its containment tube. It carried pressure manipulation, abyssal current control, and resilience suited to a fighter who expected to remain in hostile environments for long periods. The Earring of Solcryst held radiance, purging, and solar severance authority, while the Armband of Drayvorn carried spatial rend, stabilization, and a localized null field that could interrupt enemy movement techniques when used with sufficient timing.
Near the deepest section of the room, a frozen crystal had been embedded in a formation made of transparent ice and silver runes. It was not the same item as the frost bracelet Noctis had selected earlier. Valdred identified it as the Heart of Cryzareth, a primordial ice core with enough stored authority to freeze a wide section of ground if its containment formation failed. Noctis studied it longer than the others, considering whether the bracelet and core could eventually be paired without overloading the same person.
"You are not taking that one too," Valdred said.
Noctis looked at him. "Why not?"
"Because the previous owner of the bracelet destroyed half a mountain range when the core resonated with it."
"That sounds useful."
"It was not useful to the people living on the mountain."
Noctis smiled faintly and moved on without touching the core. Valdred watched him carefully, uncertain whether that restraint meant Noctis had accepted the warning or simply decided to return later with a better plan.
By the time they reached the final chambers, Noctis had selected fifteen demon god bloodline relics across the vault, in addition to Adrian's corrupted holy staff acquired earlier. Valdred's expression had become visibly strained as each item disappeared through another blood-red portal. The academy did not possess replacements for most of those relics. Several had been recovered during wars, others found in ruins where entire expeditions had died, and some had remained sealed because nobody who approached them had survived the attempt to use them.
Valdred stopped beside a row of empty containment platforms and folded his arms. "Return one."
Noctis turned toward him. "Why?"
"If you return a demon god bloodline relic, I will allow you to choose three additional ordinary treasures," Valdred said. "Weapons, materials, scrolls, ores, whatever is not classified as a bloodline inheritance."
Noctis looked at the platforms behind him, then at Valdred. "Three ordinary treasures are not equal to one demon god relic."
"I know that."
"Then why offer it?"
"Because I am trying to recover at least one item before the academy treasury report reaches the principal."
Noctis considered the offer with a calm expression. "Ten additional treasures."
Valdred's shoulders tightened. "Noctis."
"These relics are worth far more than three ordinary items."
"You already have fifteen."
"I am returning one."
"You are returning one because you selected too many."
"I am still returning one."
Valdred looked toward the ceiling for a moment, then back at Noctis. "Ten additional treasures, but none of them can be demon god bloodline relics."
"Agreed."
Noctis opened a blood-red portal and removed the Ring of Velthorax. The ring was made of black metal and carried molten crimson inscriptions around its outer band. Its aura produced a thin layer of heat around the surface, but the heat remained contained rather than spreading through the chamber. Valdred reached for it with visible reluctance, perhaps hoping the relic would simply accept the return and end the negotiation.
The moment his fingers touched the ring, a suppression force traveled through his arm and forced him down onto one knee. The stone beneath his knee cracked, and the ring's crimson inscriptions brightened before Noctis pulled it back into his own hand. The pressure released immediately, leaving Valdred breathing harder than before while the nearby containment seals adjusted to the sudden aura fluctuation.
Noctis looked at the ring. "It rejected you."
"Bloodline relics reject anyone without sufficient compatibility," Valdred said while standing. "You have seen that already."
"I have not seen it happen to you."
"That is not an experience I needed."
Noctis returned the Ring of Velthorax to its original platform. The containment formation closed around it again, and the ring's inscriptions dimmed once more. He had touched every relic he selected without suffering the rejection that had affected Valdred, which raised an obvious question about his blood and the adaptability inherited by the fallen angels through blood memory.
He stood near the returned ring for several moments while Valdred checked the crack in the floor beneath his knee. The Crimson Abyss Core remained inside Noctis's dimensional storage, and the description of the Scarlet Tyrant Bloodline continued to occupy his attention. Blood demons were the ancient origin of vampire evolution, but Scarlet Tyrant was not simply another version of that origin. It represented a later and more complete development of blood authority.
Noctis opened his dimensional storage again and brought the Crimson Abyss Core into the chamber.
Valdred recognized it immediately. His expression changed, but he did not ask why Noctis had it or act as though he were seeing it for the first time. "You are going to compare it to Azaeryth."
"No," Noctis said while holding the core in his palm. "I am going to see whether they recognize each other."
The Crimson Abyss Core carried a deep red light beneath its dark outer surface. Thin lines moved through the crystal like old blood circulating through hardened veins, and the air around it became warmer as ancient vampiric aura spread through the chamber. Valdred moved back from the platform where the Pendant of Azaeryth had originally been contained, while Noctis brought the core closer to the Scarlet Tyrant relic stored inside his dimensional space.
He reopened the portal and allowed the Pendant of Azaeryth to appear several feet in front of him. The pendant hovered above his open hand while the Crimson Abyss Core rested in the other. For a brief moment, neither relic moved. The surrounding suppression formations continued rotating, and the relics stored in nearby chambers remained inside their own containment fields.
Then the Crimson Abyss Core released a wider pulse of ancient blood authority.
The Scarlet Tyrant pendant responded immediately. Crimson mist pushed outward from the gemstone, and the chain beneath it rose from Noctis's palm as though pulled by an unseen force. The two bloodline auras met between his hands, and the air in the chamber distorted where the red currents pressed against one another.
Valdred took another step back. "There has never been a recorded reaction between two bloodline relics."
The Crimson Abyss Core produced a second pulse. The Scarlet Tyrant pendant answered with a denser surge of blood mist, and the force between them pushed outward hard enough to make the nearest containment arrays brighten. Noctis kept both relics in place, but the pressure continued increasing until the lamps along the corridor flickered and several lesser artifacts began shaking inside their containment seals.
The light above the Crimson Abyss Core condensed into a broad-shouldered figure with horned features, elongated teeth, and veins visible beneath dark crimson skin. Its shape did not fully solidify, but the head lowered toward the Scarlet Tyrant pendant as though it recognized the opposing bloodline. Above the pendant, a second figure formed from dense red mist and compressed blood light. This one stood upright in armor shaped from overlapping crimson plates, with a crown-like structure above its head and a long blade held at its side.
Valdred watched both manifestations without speaking for several seconds. The blood demon figure moved first, extending one arm toward the armored form. The Scarlet Tyrant manifestation raised its blade, and the two forces contacted each other between the relics. The collision sent a ring of crimson energy through the chamber, cracked the outer surface of two nearby containment seals, and pushed Valdred farther down the corridor.
Noctis kept his stance and continued holding both relics apart. The blood demon manifestation pressed forward with raw force, but the Scarlet Tyrant figure did not move from its position. Instead, blood script appeared around the armored figure and wrapped around the blood demon's extended arm, cutting through the larger form in several places. The blood demon's body reformed each time the script divided it, and the surrounding pressure continued rising as both relics forced their bloodline authority into the same space.
Valdred raised his voice over the sound of the containment formations straining. "The bloodlines are enemies. The Crimson Abyss Core carries an old blood demon lineage, and Scarlet Tyrant is a later bloodline built from the same foundation. They are trying to establish which one has authority over the other."
The pressure between the relics increased again. Crimson light traveled across the ceiling and floor, and several relics in the nearby chambers released defensive aura responses inside their seals. Noctis could feel both artifacts trying to pull more authority from his blood, each one attempting to use him as the source that would overwhelm the other. He did not allow either relic to connect deeper into his bloodline. He kept them suspended in front of him and watched the two manifested figures continue their struggle.
A third pulse moved through the chamber before either relic could gain ground.
It came from the far corner of the vault where a small relic had remained inside a plain containment frame. The frame had no black corruption seals around it, no reinforced chains, and no separate suppression pillars built into the floor. The object inside had looked unremarkable beside the demon god bloodlines: a piece of pale wood with red lines running through its grain, suspended inside a clear crystal case.
The case split apart.
A bloodline force spread from the relic across the chamber. It did not push outward in waves or create another collision. The force reached the Crimson Abyss Core and the Scarlet Tyrant pendant at the same time, and both manifestations broke apart before either could resist. The horned blood demon form collapsed back into the core. The armored Scarlet Tyrant figure disappeared into the pendant, and both artifacts lowered until they rested motionless above Noctis's hands.
Noctis and Valdred remained still while the chamber changed around them.
The relics in the surrounding containment fields withdrew their aura. Black flame narrowed around the Pendant of Vaelzoryth. The fractured halo of Nyxareth stopped releasing holy and abyssal pressure. Lightning around Zephryxiel shortened into thin lines around the crystal core. The other artifacts did not become inactive, but their auras remained close to their surfaces as though each bloodline had chosen not to challenge the authority now occupying the chamber.
Valdred looked toward the broken crystal case in the corner. "That should not be possible."
Noctis stored the Crimson Abyss Core and the Scarlet Tyrant pendant separately, keeping them apart inside his dimensional space. He then pointed toward the pale wooden relic. "What is that?"
Valdred did not answer immediately. He stepped toward the corner, stopped several meters from the containment frame, and studied the relic with an expression that showed concern rather than recognition. The pale wood remained suspended inside the open case, and the red lines within its grain moved slowly from one end to the other.
"I do not know the full details," Valdred said. "The relic was already here when the academy was founded. The earliest vault records list it as an existing item transferred into the academy's first treasure archive."
"What do the records say?"
"Only the name." Valdred looked back toward Noctis. "There is no origin entry, no bloodline classification, no former owner, and no explanation of its function."
Noctis looked at the relic again. It did not carry black smoke, abyssal corrosion, or the broken seals used to contain demonic corruption around the other artifacts. The containment frame around it had been built to keep it in place, not to prevent contamination from spreading.
"It is not corrupted," Noctis said.
Valdred exhaled slowly. "No. It is not."
"Why is it different?"
Valdred kept his eyes on the relic while the other bloodline artifacts remained quiet around them. "Because it could not be corrupted."
Noctis waited for more, but Valdred did not have another explanation.
"The name?" Noctis asked.
Valdred answered after a short pause. "Genesis Heartwood."
The pale wooden relic remained suspended inside the broken crystal case. The red lines beneath its surface continued moving through the grain, and every other bloodline relic in the chamber remained contained within its own aura without testing the authority that had stopped the conflict between the Crimson Abyss Core and the Scarlet Tyrant Bloodline.